Michelle Price

one of the best metafilter comments of all time gets more relevant every day

@drseanmullen As a covid cautious teacher and a fellow Illinoisan, thank you for all you do! We are eternally grateful!

Advocacy isn’t posting. It’s doing. I’ve stayed quiet at times because I hate the spotlight. I don’t want to be here. I want to play tennis with my daughter. I want to take the mask off, take my wife on a date, and not think about any of this. But I can’t unsee what I’ve seen. And I can’t unhear what I’ve heard. I’ve spent over 1,000 hours listening to people with Long Covid. Every story. Every symptom. Every dismissal. Every collapse. Everything. And once you understand how this actually works, how it dismantles human functioning, and how individuals have dismantled awareness of this disease and its prevention, you don’t get to walk away. Let’s get something straight about advocacy. Advocacy is not clout chasing. It’s not selling protocols. It’s not cosplaying as a clinician. It’s not gatekeeping illness categories. It’s not belittling patients. It’s not blocking people who ask hard questions. And it’s definitely not showing up for a day or a month of awareness and disappearing the rest of the year. Advocacy is doing. What have I actually done? I’ve written to professional organizations across behavioral medicine, cognitive science, and education pushing for masking, remote accommodations, and evidence-based guidance. I’ve drafted letters supporting disability claims grounded in scientific evidence. I’ve advocated for children and families facing harassment for masking. I’ve spoken at school board meetings. I’ve created templates for families navigating unsafe environments. I’ve directly contacted educators, administrators, policymakers. I built an Illinois Air Quality Dashboard linking indoor air quality, absenteeism, and public health risk. I’ve developed tools for people trying to stay safe in an environment that has abandoned prevention. I submitted a PCORI grant to center patient voices in research design and to build infrastructure for trials. 50+ hours of work. No guarantee of funding. Still did it. I don’t have Long Covid. This work pulled me away from my primary research area. It complicates my career. It costs time, energy, and honestly, peace. I haven’t earned a cent from Long Covid. I’ve been asked to join podcasts. I declined. I’ve been asked to write for organizations. I declined. I’ve been asked to lead grant efforts for trials. I declined. If I don’t clearly see how people with Long Covid benefit, I don’t invest my time. If I detect conflict of interest, I decline. But I have stayed here because I know how to evaluate evidence. I know how to build systems. And I’ve listened long enough to know who is being failed. There are people out there who are ignored, misdiagnosed, talked down to, sold false hope, or told this is all in their head. That part, I won’t tolerate. What’s broken right now? We have grifters selling snake oil. Researchers collapsing distinct conditions into convenient narratives. Professionals minimizing or dismissing patients. I’ve stepped back from certain spaces because many of them are no longer centered on patients. At the same time, prevention has been erased. The disease itself is being erased. Both ends of an aerosol-transmitted disease. Same result. And during moments where there should be unity, there’s fragmentation, ego, and noise. The reality? Entire countries are redefining conditions in ways that blur critical distinctions. People without medical training positioning themselves as authorities. Patients being told not to protect themselves. And here in Illinois, we’re fighting just to get basic clean air education and AQ monitors into schools. A bill that might not even survive. I’m not here to build a following. I’m not here to sell you something. I have donated to individuals and even helped raise over $1k for a charity (although, I'm not entirely sure to what extent that really helps families with LC). I’m here because prevention matters. And patients deserve better. And the truth still matters, even when it’s inconvenient. I’m continuing this work through infrastructure, tools, advocacy, and direct support. And I’ll be putting more of my own money into it. I’m building something called LANTERN. More on that soon. If you call yourself an advocate, ask yourself this: What have you actually done to make someone safer, heard, or better supported? Not talked about. Not posted about. Done. This space doesn’t need more voices. It needs more people willing to do the work.

They know. Protect the talent. Sara Jessica Parker, being protected by the staff in respirators at the back of Barnes and Nobles.

frontiersin.org/journals/immun… This new paper on the mRNA vaccines really helps to explain some of the benefits of Novavax. The main focus is on mRNA’s cardiovascular side effects (which is a separate issue), but what’s most interesting to me is that is helps explain why we get less protection against infection across variants with mRNA when compared to Novavax. Those benefits are at least somewhat related to Novavax’s focus on CD4+ T cells and the S2 subunit of the SARS2 spike protein, which we did already know, but now we understand a key mechanism for WHY Novavax is so much better at it than the mRNA vaccines. To start, a couple brief summaries/reminders: 1. How the SARS2 spike protein works: The spike is made up of 3 main parts - The NTD (N-terminal domain) and RBD (receptor binding domain) in the S1 subunit, and the S2 subunit. The vast majority of mutations happen on S1, while S2 is a lot more stable. Since S1 contains the RBD, which is where the virus attaches to our ACE2 receptors, it does tend to be more important to have the immune system mount a response to S1 epitopes for the purpose of preventing infection. However, S2 is still extremely important when trying to generate an immune response across multiple variants - since, like I mentioned before, S2 is a lot more stable. 2. How T cells work: CD8+ cytotoxic T cells are the cells that directly kill cells that are infected by a virus like SARS2. CD4+ Helper T cells are the cells that coordinate the entire immune response: they identify pathogens and signal to other immune cells (B cells, macrophages, and the aforementioned CD8+ T cells, etc.) to destroy pathogens. Now, here’s what we learned and had confirmed in this new paper: Essentially, the mRNA vaccines can only induce a robust CD4+ response against the S1 subunit, and NOT against the S2 subunit. Why? The paper found that, after our body produces the spike protein post-mRNA vax, it gets broken back down into its two main parts - S1 and S2 - while still inside of our cells. After that breakdown occurs, only the S1 subunit was detected outside of the cells that were tested, while the S2 subunit remained inside of all of the cells tested. Next, there are two main pathways that generate immunity: MHC Class I (intracellular) - which activates CD8+ cells, and MHC Class II (extracellular) - which activates CD4+ cells. So, essentially, since S2 is not present extracellularly, the mRNA vaccines are not generating CD4+ cells (which are required for coordinating the entire immune response) primed against the S2 subunit (which is the key to maintaining a response across a wider range of variants).

Fake immigration “hotline” gets a call from a teacher asking to deport a kindergarten student’s parents, saying “we normally don’t have Hispanics here” and they “don’t belong.” The host mocks her, saying “yeah, the little fellow could be a national security threat.”

@DrewFromNY @CourtneyLizR lauryn hill

@CourtneyLizR Who’s the singer in the sunglasses and the puffy dress, please?

Omgggg this D’Angelo tribute. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 #GRAMMYs

“It’s the Omicron era. Covid is over. Nothing to worry about regarding effects on the brain. It’s mild now.” Whatever you want to tell yourself. I’ll tell you how it is.

Questions answered here: x.com/i/status/20097…

Acetylsalicylic acid disrupts SARS-CoV-2 spike protein glycosylation and selectively impairs binding to ACE2 ‼️YOUR ATTENTION: Very interesting Italian work, supporting earlier science findings: ASPIRIN! ➡️Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA/aspirin) has shown potential in reducing COVID-19 severity via anti-inflammatory effects, but its direct impact on SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 protein binding to ACE2 receptor was unknown. ➡️ASA directly interferes with S1-ACE2 binding, potentially mitigating viral entry and tissue injury. ➡️In Vitro: - ASA pre-incubation dose-dependently reduced recombinant S1 binding to ACE2 on Vero cells and in ELISA assays -Limited cytopathic effects of live SARS-CoV-2 (specific to ASA, not paracetamol). ➡️In Vivo: - In human ACE2 transgenic mice, ASA-treated S1 caused markedly less lung injury, fibrosis (reduced fibronectin/collagen), and inflammation (fewer macrophages/neutrophils) than untreated S1. ➡️Mechanism: - Glycoproteomics revealed ASA alters S1 glycosylation, notably reducing N-glycosylation at N61 and O-glycosylation at S325, with increased acetylation. ➡️Experimental confirmation: - Site-directed mutagenesis creating the N61D/S325A double mutant in the spike protein reduced ACE2 binding in vitro and lung pathogenicity in vivo, thereby replicating the protective effects of ASA. ➡️Conclusions: - ASA exhibits a novel antiviral action by disrupting spike glycosylation, supporting its repurposing as a low-cost intervention to prevent COVID-19 progression and related complications. ➡️No clinical doses are discussed, only a 20mg/L in an In-vivo mouse model. 🤔 ➡️‼️"These findings unveil a previously unrecognized antiviral activity of ASA, providing a molecular rationale for its repurposing as a low-cost, readily available intervention to prevent the progression from mild to severe COVID-19." So, Aspirin directly impairs SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binding to ACE2 by disrupting its glycosylation, thereby reducing viral entry, cytopathic effects, and lung injury in preclinical models. frontiersin.org/journals/immun…

David Attenborough narrates a teacher’s first day back after Christmas

I never thought I’d be writing this. After years of advocating for clean air and protecting kids during an ONGOING PANDEMIC, my daughter’s high school is trying to ban masks. My kid is a freshman. Illinois Section 2A tennis champion and state qualifier. Healthy. Driven. Focused. All As. And her school wants to take away her right to protect herself from a virus known to cause brain damage, vascular injury, immune dysfunction, and Long Covid. Let that sink in. On January 26, @Unit4Schools plans to enforce a #MaskBan. This is not about politics. This is about bodily autonomy. This is about disability discrimination. This is about children’s rights. If you think this ends quietly, you are mistaken. @ACLU @Liesl4CleanAir @luckytran 📄 Receipts + documentation: 👇 Share this. Screenshot it. Tag people. Because kids deserve clean air in school. docs.google.com/document/d/1Wa…

Researchers from Griffith University have found that COVID-19 can cause long-term brain alterations in those who had been infected. #covid #brain #reasearch #griffithuniversity #queensland

🧠 Confirming what we already know, but good to see this in mainstream news

Are you COVID Cautious, but sometimes think “Just this once. There’s low risk.” A must watch video.

@PammckC @Biff234523 @AptitudeMetrix Did you do a nasal swab or saliva? Using saliva gave me an error but ithe nasal swabs have all worked

@Biff234523 @AptitudeMetrix I have a original metrix and nearly every test I ran came back with errors. Total waste of money for me.

FYI: The new combo COVID/Flu molecular tests from @AptitudeMetrix are now available for purchase…for $45 each. You too can be the owner of one for the low deposit of 1 arm and 1 leg! I was originally going to just make a neutral post announcing it, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that with a straight face. This price isn’t even within a reasonable ballpark and I’d love to learn how they arrived at it. It’s a higher price than the Pfizer Lucira tests, which were $40 for completely disposable units that contained more materials…

Upcycling for those unaware:

Some good news from Sanofi: They are telling us that a locator tool for Novavax will be going live late next week. So, if things work out like they’re supposed to, @Friesein and I might only have about 10 more days of hard work to do, and the rest of y’all might only have about 10 more days of having to scour Twitter threads to locate doses. Sanofi definitely should have the capability to produce a functional and useful tool. This is their wheelhouse, and they host a very functional locator for their flu shots as well: sanofiflushots.com/flu-shot-locat…

🚨💉Big vaccine news today: AHIP, which is the national trade association representing the health insurance industry, announced that health insurers will continue to cover all ACIP-recommended immunizations as of September 1 - including the updated COVID-19 vaccines - through the end of 2026. This essentially makes this week's ACIP meeting a moot point, and ensures that Novavax will be available for free to anyone with a health insurance plan once it becomes available in the coming weeks regardless of what ACIP decides to recommend. Once again, there is absolutely no reason to rush out and get mRNA. AHIP statement: ahip.org/news/press-rel… AHIP members: ahip.org/members

USA: COVID19 update for September 5, 2025. COVID is surging nationwide. @BettyB2007

Do you remember during the pandemic when a million Americans a day were getting COVlD, and hardly anyone could even get a vaccine appointment? I do. Because it is today.